Oregon National Guard continues its Lewis and Clark educational outreach program with local schools

SALEM, Ore. – Almost 90 students from Meyers Elementary School in northwest Salem, took history from the pages of a textbook and brought it into the classroom, when members of the Oregon National Guard visited Meyers their on Nov. 15, as part of the Guard's ongoing Lewis and Clark education program.

The Oregon National Guard is continuing and expanding its Lewis and Clark educational outreach program, which goes into schools and organizations to teach the public about the history of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Representing the Oregon National Guard, Lt. Col. Thyra Bishop and Maj. Alisha Hamel met with students in the school's media center. In addition to interactive displays and maps, the students also enjoyed a multimedia presentation.

"When we started this program during the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial, we did it as a way to educate the community about the National Guard," Hamel said. "But as we went into the schools, we found the program to be mutually-beneficial to both the Guard and the public. The program was helping us to tell the history of the United States, and indeed the National Guard, but it also cast our organization in a positive light because the Guard is so much a part of the local community."

The presentation consists of an interactive lecture period covering the history of the Lewis and Clark expedition. It utilizes items in the "Discovery Box" – a display box containing replicas of historic implements, tools, books, and other items used by the exploration's members, in addition to items of interest the explorers may have encountered along their route to the mouth of the Columbia River. Viewers are then treated to a movie which ties the history of the expedition together, followed by a show and tell period where audience members can touch and explore some of the items in the Discovery Box. These include a grizzly bear paw print, a period uniform coat and hat, a beaver pelt, a sextant and compass.

For more information, to schedule a presentation or to find out about upcoming presentations in your area, contact Cherie Cavallaro at 503-584-2272 or via e-mail at cherie.cavallaro@or.ngb.army.mil. You may also visit the new American history era presentations online at www.mil.state.or.us/LC.

Photos:

061115-F-1639C-036: Maj. Alisha Hamel, Project Coordinator for the Oregon National Guard's Lewis and Clark education program, speaks to students at Meyers Elementary School in northwest Salem on Nov. 15, 2006. The Oregon National Guard is visiting local area schools as part of their ongoing Lewis and Clark educational outreach program, which goes into schools and organizations to teach the public about the history of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

061115-F-1639C-042: Maj. Alisha Hamel, Project Coordinator for the Oregon National Guard's Lewis and Clark education program, shows an 1806 replica United States flag to students at Meyers Elementary School in northwest Salem on Nov. 15, 2006. The Oregon National Guard is visiting local area schools as part of their ongoing Lewis and Clark educational outreach program, which goes into schools and organizations to teach the public about the history of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

061115-F-1639C-013: Maj. Alisha Hamel, Project Coordinator for the Oregon National Guard's Lewis and Clark education program, speaks to students at Meyers Elementary School in northwest Salem on Nov. 15, 2006. The Oregon National Guard is visiting local area schools as part of their ongoing Lewis and Clark educational outreach program, which goes into schools and organizations to teach the public about the history of the Lewis and Clark expedition.